Peña Roja de Marxuquera

A day at Peña Roja de Marxuquera, above the orange groves behind Gandía. We climbed one interesting route that goes through a hole in the wall. Very good rock quality and beautiful colours.

Peña Roja de Marxuquera — Gandía, south-facing

Sport / single pitch, 25 m average and up to 40 m / limestone / around 157 routes, V to 8a+

The crag is the standard sport venue for the Safor area — roughly 157 bolted routes spread across seven or eight sectors, graded from V up to 8a+, on excellent grey and rust-coloured limestone. Most lines are single pitch, averaging around 25 m with the longest reaching 40 m. Slabs and dihedrals on the upper walls, tufas and steep caves lower down, and the odd feature you can climb straight through.

South-facing and low, so it works in December when everything else is cold. The colours in the rock were the thing I remember most.

Logistics

Approach

Drive up the Marxuquera valley from Gandía through the orange groves; the wall is obvious above the road, about 10 minutes on foot. Note that access is restricted April to June for nesting birds.